The present invention relates to methods of treating the side effects of a toxic medical therapy using nitrated lipids. In particular, the methods comprise the use of nitrated fatty acids or esters thereof to treat side effects, including organ system damage, caused by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and the administration of other toxic agents.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy provide an effective means of treating cancer. For example, cisplatin is among of the most successful anticancer drugs and is now being widely used for the treatment of testicular, head and neck, ovarian, cervical, nonsmall cell lung carcinoma, and many other types of cancer. In addition, approximately half of cancer patients received radiotherapy as a single and adjuvant therapy at some stage of their illness. However, a drawback of both chemotherapy and radiotherapy is the production of toxicity in normal tissues. For example, the clinical use of cisplatin is limited by its severe side effects, including neurotoxicity, ototoxicity, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, and nephrotoxicity. The mechanism of cisplatin-induced organ damage has been shown to be multifactorial, involving oxidative stress and apoptosis. Adriamycin is an anthracycline antibiotic and can cause severe side effects, including podocyte foot process effacement, increase glomerular permeability leading to proteinuria, and inflammation via oxygen free radicals. Other kinds of medical treatment may also involve administration of toxic agents, i.e., those that produce toxicity in normal tissues. Like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the side effects associated with such treatments may limit the use of the treatment. The present invention attempts to solve these problems, as well as others.